'Not going to do a damn thing': MSNBC host blisters lawmakers letting Trump gut the FBI
Tom Boggioni
February 1, 2025
Tom Boggioni
February 1, 2025
RAW STORY
Michael Steele (MSNBC screenshot)
Reacting to a firing of key FBI officials late Friday by one of Donald Trump appointees, combined with a threat to purge every FBI employee who had anything with investigating the Jan. 6th insurrection that Trump inspired, MSNBC's Michael Steele ripped into lawmakers who are standing by doing nothing.
On Friday, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove began the purge and demanded the FBI put together a list of all agents and F.B.I. staff “assigned at any time to investigations and/or prosecutions” tied to the Capitol riot.
Saturday morning, Steele, from his perch as co-host of "The Weekend" launched into scathing attack on both parties, singling out so-called "law and order Republicans."
"You've got [Democratic House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries in a statement saying Republicans are 'hollowing out the world's premier law enforcement agency and leaving everyday Americans more vulnerable to violent criminals and terrorists. This complete disregard for national security in pursuit of vengeance should shock every American.'" Steele quoted the lawmaker. "Okay, color me shocked! Alright, everybody in this town is shocked but the crap still happens and no one seems to be doing anything about it!"
"No one seems to be outraged and put out," he exclaimed. "People are losing their jobs, people are on the verge of retirement, two years, one year, six months from retirement. Lose out on that opportunity."
"You've got folks who are now in situations where Monday comes, 'What am I doing? I'm just sitting around waiting to be fired.' What are what are the responses from Democrats and Republicans on the Hill? Or is this one of those oh, you know, 'Color me tears, color me shocked –– we're so, so upset by all of this, but we're not going to do a damn thing about it.'"
Watch below or at the link.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
Michael Steele (MSNBC screenshot)
Reacting to a firing of key FBI officials late Friday by one of Donald Trump appointees, combined with a threat to purge every FBI employee who had anything with investigating the Jan. 6th insurrection that Trump inspired, MSNBC's Michael Steele ripped into lawmakers who are standing by doing nothing.
On Friday, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove began the purge and demanded the FBI put together a list of all agents and F.B.I. staff “assigned at any time to investigations and/or prosecutions” tied to the Capitol riot.
Saturday morning, Steele, from his perch as co-host of "The Weekend" launched into scathing attack on both parties, singling out so-called "law and order Republicans."
"You've got [Democratic House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries in a statement saying Republicans are 'hollowing out the world's premier law enforcement agency and leaving everyday Americans more vulnerable to violent criminals and terrorists. This complete disregard for national security in pursuit of vengeance should shock every American.'" Steele quoted the lawmaker. "Okay, color me shocked! Alright, everybody in this town is shocked but the crap still happens and no one seems to be doing anything about it!"
"No one seems to be outraged and put out," he exclaimed. "People are losing their jobs, people are on the verge of retirement, two years, one year, six months from retirement. Lose out on that opportunity."
"You've got folks who are now in situations where Monday comes, 'What am I doing? I'm just sitting around waiting to be fired.' What are what are the responses from Democrats and Republicans on the Hill? Or is this one of those oh, you know, 'Color me tears, color me shocked –– we're so, so upset by all of this, but we're not going to do a damn thing about it.'"
Watch below or at the link.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
Matthew Chapman
January 31, 2025
RAW STORY
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) tore into President Donald Trump over the Friday night purge of FBI agents involved with criminal investigations into him.
The D.C. Field Office, in particular, has seen a wave of firings. It comes as the acting head of Trump's Justice Department is also moving to eliminate the jobs of prosecutors who handled the Jan. 6 cases and worked with special counsel Jack Smith.
"Trump’s DOJ Deputy AG is ordering the FBI Acting Secretary to create a blacklist of officers for termination because they LAWFULLY INVESTIGATED an insurrection at the Capitol that resulted in severe injuries and deaths, including of law enforcement," wrote Crockett, a former public defender, on X. "Instead of respecting the acts and contributions of the FBI for holding people to account for desecrating the hallowed halls of Congress, my Republican colleagues are now cheering for their removal."
"LET’S BE CLEAR: Firing these experienced law enforcement officers is a victory for lawlessness, organized crime, and corruption," she continued. "It is a get out of jail free card for the drug smugglers, human traffickers, child exploiters, and violent extremists that the FBI investigates."
"But most importantly, tonight is a tragedy for the rule of law," Crockett concluded.
Trump ran his 2024 campaign in part on being an anti-crime candidate — but the message was continually muddled with tirades against the justice system for prosecuting him and his allies, and accusations of misconduct and political bias against the prosecutors and law enforcement officials investigating the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) tore into President Donald Trump over the Friday night purge of FBI agents involved with criminal investigations into him.
The D.C. Field Office, in particular, has seen a wave of firings. It comes as the acting head of Trump's Justice Department is also moving to eliminate the jobs of prosecutors who handled the Jan. 6 cases and worked with special counsel Jack Smith.
"Trump’s DOJ Deputy AG is ordering the FBI Acting Secretary to create a blacklist of officers for termination because they LAWFULLY INVESTIGATED an insurrection at the Capitol that resulted in severe injuries and deaths, including of law enforcement," wrote Crockett, a former public defender, on X. "Instead of respecting the acts and contributions of the FBI for holding people to account for desecrating the hallowed halls of Congress, my Republican colleagues are now cheering for their removal."
"LET’S BE CLEAR: Firing these experienced law enforcement officers is a victory for lawlessness, organized crime, and corruption," she continued. "It is a get out of jail free card for the drug smugglers, human traffickers, child exploiters, and violent extremists that the FBI investigates."
"But most importantly, tonight is a tragedy for the rule of law," Crockett concluded.
Trump ran his 2024 campaign in part on being an anti-crime candidate — but the message was continually muddled with tirades against the justice system for prosecuting him and his allies, and accusations of misconduct and political bias against the prosecutors and law enforcement officials investigating the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
FBI agents in Trump probes facing dismissal: reports
By AFP
January 31, 2025
Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's pick to be FBI director, during a campaign rally in Arizona - Copyright GETTY IMAGES/AFP Rebecca Noble
FBI agents who participated in the investigations that led to now-abandoned criminal charges against President Donald Trump are expected to be fired in a sweeping purge of the top US law enforcement organization, US media reported Friday.
Dozens of FBI agents involved in the probe of Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 and some supervisors are also “being evaluated for possible removal,” CNN said, quoting people briefed on the matter.
The Washington Post, citing people familiar with the plan, said “officials are working to identify potentially hundreds (of FBI agents) for possible termination.”
The newspaper said that in addition to the purge at the FBI, about 30 federal prosecutors who worked on Capitol riot cases and were on probationary status had been dismissed.
The Justice Department fired a number of officials on Monday who were involved in the prosecutions of Trump.
A Justice Department official said the positions were being terminated because the acting attorney general did not believe they “could be trusted to faithfully implement the president’s agenda.”
NBC News said among those being fired at the Federal Bureau of Investigation were the heads of more than 20 FBI field offices including those in Miami and Washington.
According to CNN, at least six senior FBI leaders have been ordered to “retire, resign or be fired by Monday.”
The Post said the FBI’s acting director, Brian Driscoll, a veteran agent who was appointed by Trump to run the bureau until his nominee as director is confirmed by the Senate, had refused to approve the mass firings.
– ‘Brazen assault on the rule of law’ –
Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, strongly condemned the dismissals at the FBI and Justice Department.
“The Trump Administration’s purge of dozens of DOJ and FBI officials involved in investigating Donald Trump and the January 6 rioters is a major blow to the FBI and Justice Department’s integrity and effectiveness,” Durbin said.
“This is a brazen assault on the rule of law that also severely undermines our national security and public safety,” he said. “Unelected Trump lackeys are carrying out widespread political retribution against our nation’s career law enforcement officials.”
The FBI Agents Association, a non-profit group that advocates for FBI employees, said if the reports of widespread dismissals are true the actions are “fundamentally at odds with the law enforcement objectives outlined by President Trump and his support for FBI Agents.
“Dismissing potentially hundreds of Agents would severely weaken the Bureau’s ability to protect the country from national security and criminal threats and will ultimately risk setting up the Bureau and its new leadership for failure,” the FBIAA said in a statement.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought two federal cases against Trump, resigned earlier this month.
Smith charged Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.
Neither case came to trial and Smith — in line with a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president — dropped them both after the Republican won November’s presidential election.
Trump, on his first day in the White House last week, pardoned more than 1,500 of his supporters who stormed the Capitol in a bid to block congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.
FBI director Christopher Wray resigned following Trump’s reelection and the president has named Kash Patel, his former advisor and staunch loyalist, to head the bureau
By AFP
January 31, 2025
Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's pick to be FBI director, during a campaign rally in Arizona - Copyright GETTY IMAGES/AFP Rebecca Noble
FBI agents who participated in the investigations that led to now-abandoned criminal charges against President Donald Trump are expected to be fired in a sweeping purge of the top US law enforcement organization, US media reported Friday.
Dozens of FBI agents involved in the probe of Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 and some supervisors are also “being evaluated for possible removal,” CNN said, quoting people briefed on the matter.
The Washington Post, citing people familiar with the plan, said “officials are working to identify potentially hundreds (of FBI agents) for possible termination.”
The newspaper said that in addition to the purge at the FBI, about 30 federal prosecutors who worked on Capitol riot cases and were on probationary status had been dismissed.
The Justice Department fired a number of officials on Monday who were involved in the prosecutions of Trump.
A Justice Department official said the positions were being terminated because the acting attorney general did not believe they “could be trusted to faithfully implement the president’s agenda.”
NBC News said among those being fired at the Federal Bureau of Investigation were the heads of more than 20 FBI field offices including those in Miami and Washington.
According to CNN, at least six senior FBI leaders have been ordered to “retire, resign or be fired by Monday.”
The Post said the FBI’s acting director, Brian Driscoll, a veteran agent who was appointed by Trump to run the bureau until his nominee as director is confirmed by the Senate, had refused to approve the mass firings.
– ‘Brazen assault on the rule of law’ –
Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, strongly condemned the dismissals at the FBI and Justice Department.
“The Trump Administration’s purge of dozens of DOJ and FBI officials involved in investigating Donald Trump and the January 6 rioters is a major blow to the FBI and Justice Department’s integrity and effectiveness,” Durbin said.
“This is a brazen assault on the rule of law that also severely undermines our national security and public safety,” he said. “Unelected Trump lackeys are carrying out widespread political retribution against our nation’s career law enforcement officials.”
The FBI Agents Association, a non-profit group that advocates for FBI employees, said if the reports of widespread dismissals are true the actions are “fundamentally at odds with the law enforcement objectives outlined by President Trump and his support for FBI Agents.
“Dismissing potentially hundreds of Agents would severely weaken the Bureau’s ability to protect the country from national security and criminal threats and will ultimately risk setting up the Bureau and its new leadership for failure,” the FBIAA said in a statement.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought two federal cases against Trump, resigned earlier this month.
Smith charged Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.
Neither case came to trial and Smith — in line with a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president — dropped them both after the Republican won November’s presidential election.
Trump, on his first day in the White House last week, pardoned more than 1,500 of his supporters who stormed the Capitol in a bid to block congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.
FBI director Christopher Wray resigned following Trump’s reelection and the president has named Kash Patel, his former advisor and staunch loyalist, to head the bureau
PERJURY
Patel, at his confirmation hearing before a Senate committee on Thursday, was asked if he was aware of any plans to punish FBI agents who were involved in the investigations of Trump.
“I am not aware of that,” he said.
Patel also told the Senate Judiciary Committee that “all FBI employees will be protected against political retribution.”
Patel, at his confirmation hearing before a Senate committee on Thursday, was asked if he was aware of any plans to punish FBI agents who were involved in the investigations of Trump.
“I am not aware of that,” he said.
Patel also told the Senate Judiciary Committee that “all FBI employees will be protected against political retribution.”
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